The Puerto Rican tanager (''Nesospingus speculiferus'') is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. It is the only member of the genus ''Nesospingus'' and has historically been placed in the

tanager The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropica ...

family, but recent studies indicate it as either belonging in its own family Nesospingidae or as being a member of Phaenicophilidae. Its closest relatives are likely the spindalises (family

Spindalidae ''Spindalis'' is a genus consisting of four non-migratory species of bird. It is the only genus in the family Spindalidae. The species are mostly endemic to the West Indies; exceptions include populations of western spindalises on Cozumel Island ...

, sometimes also considered a member of the Phaenicophilidae). The Puerto Rican tanager is known to locals as , which means 'cryer'.

Description

Identification

The Puerto Rican tanager is a small passerine, typically measuring between 18 and 20 cm (7–8 in) in length and weighing around 36 g. Both males and females are olive-brown above with pale grey to white underparts. Adults typically have faint dusky striping on the beast and pure white throats. Adults also have a conspicuous white spot on the wing and a dark crown and face which obscures the eye.Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Undertail coverts are pale fulvous. Males have a brown-black

maxilla The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. T ...

and white

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...

and females have entirely black bills. Immatures are similar in appearance to adults, but are brownish underneath and lack the white wing spot.

Voice

The most frequently heard noise emitted by the Puerto Rican tanager is a harsh call note often described as a ' or '. This is often heard while feeding in flocks and may be extended into a longer ' of varying lengths. The breeding song of the species is light, sweet rapidly sung '. Other interaction calls include a soft ''sigh'' similar to a heavy exhale and a light '.

Behavior

Puerto Rican tanagers are known to roost communally in large bamboo clumps or palms. They are typically the nucleus species in mixed feeding flocks, especially in the winter when neotropical migrants are present in Puerto Rico. During the breeding season, tanagers become very territorial and defend nesting territories.Pérez-Rivera, R. A. 1993. Notes on the Breeding of the Puerto Rican Tanager (''Nesospingus speculiferus''). Caribbean Journal of Science 29(3-4): 262-264. Puerto Rican tanagers are strong flyers, but don't often fly long distances, preferring to make short flights through the canopy or brush.

Feeding

Puerto Rican tanagers feed mainly on invertebrates and fruits.Pérez-Rivera, R. A. 1997. The Importance of vertebrates in the diet of tanagers. Journal of Field Ornithology. 68(2): 178-182.Carlo, A. T., Collazo, A. J., and Groom, J. M. 2004 Influences of Fruit Diversity and Abundance in Bird Use of Two Shade Coffe Plantations. Biotropica 36(4): 602-614. The species has been reported to occasionally consume lizards and the nestling of other birds, but most of its diet consists of spiders, insects, centipedes, snails, and various fruits. Fruit consumption is determined by season, but they often feed on fruits of the genus ''

Cecropia ''Cecropia'' is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees. The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neotropics, with the majority of the speci ...

'' and ''

Clusia ''Clusia'' is the type genus of the plant family Clusiaceae. Comprising 300-400 species, it is native to the tropics of the Americas. The genus is named by Carl Linnaeus in honor of the botanist Carolus Clusius. The closest relatives of ''Clu ...

''. ''

Eleutherodactylus ''Eleutherodactylus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Eleutherodactylidae.Hedges, S. B., W. E. Duellman, and M. P. Heinicke . 2008. New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and c ...

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely rela ...

s, such as the common coquí, are also an important component of the Puerto Rican tanager's diet.

Breeding

The breeding season lasts from January to late-July, though individuals have been recorded breeding at other times of the year. During this time the males become strongly territorial. Nests are located at the ends of branches 2–10 m off the ground and are usually cup-shaped and approximately 9.2 cm across. They are typically constructed of vines, ferns, roots, and palm fibers and lined with feathers and palm leaves. Females have a clutch of 2-3 elliptical white eggs with reddish-brown splotches.

Predators

Communal roosting makes the species an easy target for owls on the island, such as the Puerto Rican owl. They are also a common prey item of the

Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk The Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk, ''(Accipiter striatus venator)'', ''falcón de sierra'' or ''gavilán pecho rufo'' in Spanish, is an endemic subspecies of the North American sharp-shinned hawk, occurring only in Puerto Rico. Discovered in 19 ...

Distribution and habitat

The Puerto Rican tanager is restricted to mid- to high-elevation (300–1350 m) montane forests on the island of Puerto Rico. It typically inhabits mature and second growth montane subtropical rain and wet forests, as well as subtropical lower montane forests.Collazo, A. J., Bonilla-Martínez, G. I. 1988. Comparación de la riqueza de aves entre plantaciones de pino hondureño (''Pinus caribaea'') y areas de bosque nativo en el Bosque Estatal de Carite, Cayey, Puerto Rico 24(1-2): 1-10. Much of the population is concentrated on the eastern and western sides of the central cordillera of Puerto Rico, with populations in El Yunque National Forest and

Maricao Maricao () is a town and the second-least populous municipality of Puerto Rico; it is located at the western edge of the Cordillera Central. It is a small town set around a small square in hilly terrain, north of San Germán, Sabana Grande and ...

State Forest. Deforestation has contributed to fragmentation of the population, which once stretched across the entire central cordillera, but is now confined to the preserved areas and higher peaks.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q918340 __FORCETOC__ Puerto Rican tanager Endemic birds of Puerto Rico Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the West Indies Puerto Rican tanager Puerto Rican tanager